Health Benefits
Looking for a health-promoting snack? A handful of sunflower seeds will take care of your hunger, while also enhancing your health by supplying significant amounts of vitamin E, magnesium and selenium.
Mineral Content
Raw sunflower seeds come packed with essential minerals, and serve as especially rich sources of copper, magnesium and manganese. All three minerals support your metabolism, helping you produce energy to fuel your active lifestyle. Magnesium also supports cell communication, copper nourishes your nervous system and manganese aids in bone development. All adults need 900 micrograms of copper each day, and women need 320 milligrams of magnesium and 1.8 milligrams of manganese, while men need 420 and 2.3 milligrams of magnesium and manganese, respectively. An ounce of raw sunflower seeds contributes 504 micrograms of copper, 91 milligrams of magnesium and 0.54 milligram of manganese toward your daily needs.
Vitamin Content
Add raw sunflower seeds to your diet as a source of water-soluble B-complex vitamins, as well as vitamin E. The B vitamins work together to keep your metabolism healthy, and they also support other essential processes, including nervous system function and red blood vessel development. Raw sunflower seeds provide vitamins B-1, B-3 and B-9. Each ounce of raw seeds also contains 9.9 milligrams of vitamin E, or 66 percent of your recommended daily intake. Vitamin E offers antioxidant protection, which keeps your tissues free of damage, and also promotes healthy cell communication.